Truth in the Age of Algorithms

In this talk, Dr Jennifer Cairns explores predictive AI as something surprisingly familiar: a modern form of divination.

Like older techniques for reading the future, today’s algorithms promise to help us navigate risk, uncertainty, and the desire to know what comes next. Dr Jennifer Cairns considers the cultural ideas built into AI, especially our long, messy history of defining “intelligence”, and how these assumptions shape what we treat as knowledge or truth.

Drawing on ethnographic research in the US and the UK, Dr Jennifer Cairns asks what kinds of truths AI seems to produce, and how these connect to much older ways of knowing that have shaped Western culture since the Enlightenment.

By viewing AI not just as a technical tool but as a cultural product, Dr Jennifer Cairns shows how predictive systems both challenge and reinforce existing assumptions about knowledge, revealing how our ideas of truth are becoming increasingly networked, iterative, optimised, and future oriented.

Who Should Attend

Anyone curious about how AI shapes decisions and our ideas of truth.

Practical Information

The talk includes a Q&A session.

Booking is essential. Lit&Phil members: we recommend logging into the website to make booking your free member ticket quicker and easier.

Accessibility Information

The venue is wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet on the ground floor. Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk